Florida's Historic
Places: Fernandina and Amelia Island

Native
Americans associated with the Timucuan mound-building culture settled
on Amelia Island about 1000. They called the island Napoyca. They
would remain on Napoyca until the early 1700s.

The written history of Fernandina on Amelia Island has unfolded under
eight flags. The French flag was the first flag to fly over the island.
Jean Ribault, French explorer, landed in 1562. He named the island
Isle de Mar. Spanish forces led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles drove
out the French in 1565. They killed Ribault and 350 French colonists.

The Spanish flag was the second flag. In 1573, Spanish Franciscans
established the Santa Maria mission on the island. They renamed the
island Isla de Santa Maria. Fernandina was settled in 1685. It was
located in the area now called Old Town. British raiders
destroyed the town in 1702. The area was deserted for many years.

James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, scouted the area. He found
peach trees, orange groves, and deserted fields. He renamed the island
Amelia Island in honor of princess Amelia, the daughter
of King George II of England. Florida and Fernandina came under British
rule. The English flag was raised as the third flag in 1763. During
the American Revolution, Fernandina became home for English Loyalists
fleeing the colonies.

In 1783, Spain again controlled Florida. A land grant became a plantation
on the site of present-day Fernandina. The Spanish harbor of Fernandina
became the nations center for smuggling slaves, liquor, and
foreign luxury goods. During the second period of Spanish occupation,
the Patriot Flag of the Republic of Florida appeared as the fourth
flag. The flag only flew for one day. The Patriots of Amelia Island
attempted to transfer Amelia Island to the control of the United States.
Their plan failed and Spain regained control.

In 1817, the Scotsman Sir Gregor MacGregor and 55 men captured the
island from its Spanish defenders. They raised their own Green Cross
of Florida flag, which became the fifth flag. Smuggling and slave
trading were still thriving.

That same year after MacGregor had already gone, pirate Luis Aury
sailed with his armada of three ships into the harbor. Three days
later he hoisted the Republic of Mexico flag, the sixth flag. He declared
himself ruler of the island. Fernandina became a pirate haven and
location for buried treasure. Aury was run out of Fernandina by a
United States navel force.

In
1821, the United States took control of the territory from Spain. The
American flag, the seventh flag, was raised. Because of its excellent
harbor, Fernandina became a prosperous and important city. The building
of Fort Clinch was begun. U.S. Senator David Yulee built Floridas
first cross-state railroad. It connected Fernandina on the Atlantic with
Cedar Key on the Gulf of Mexico. Trade grew and flourished during Floridas
period as a U.S. territory and the early years of statehood.

The Confederate flag, the eighth flag to fly over Fernandina, appeared
with the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Confederate troops occupied
Fort Clinch. A year later, a Union force restored Federal control of the
island.

After the Civil War, Fernandina became a bustling and thriving seaport
town. It relied on the shipping industry, shrimping, and the tourist trade.

Thousands of Northerners voyaged to Fernandina on the Mallory Steamship
Line from New York. Fernandina was hailed as The Queen of Summer
Resorts by an 1896 edition of American Resorts magazine. Golden
Age prosperity prompted a building boom. This attracted visitors such
as the Vanderbilts, DuPonts, and Carnegies. Fernandina was home to the
First Customs House in the United States. The oldest newspaper in Florida
was started in Fernandina.

During the Spanish-American War (the Cuban war for independence from Spain)
Amelia Island played another historic role. Soldiers were again housed
at Fort Clinch. Freedom fighter Jose Marti was overheard plotting strategies
in the Florida House Inn (Floridas oldest surviving hotel) in Fernandina.
This helped lead to the end of the war.

Today, an original 1899 railroad depot and a 1920s-era railroad sleeper
car serve as the Visitor Center on Amelia Island. The area is the home
of an early plantation, an international port, a Civil War fort, a turn-of-the
century playground for rich tourists, Floridas first cross-state
railroad, and world headquarters of the shrimping industry.

The Historic District of Fernandina reflects the citys long history.
Centre Street has Floridas oldest tavern, The Palace Saloon (1878).
The state museum at nearby Fort Clinch State Park adds to the history
visitors can relive when visiting Fernandina and Amelia Island.

Fort Clinch

Fort Clinch was
named for General Duncan Lamont Clinch, a veteran of the Seminole
and Mexican wars. Construction of the fort on Amelia Island began
in 1847. By 1861, the fort still was not finished. Although incomplete,
Fort Clinch was occupied in the summer of 1861 by Confederate troops.
By December, 1,524 troops were stationed there.

The Union military command realized the importance of Fernandina
to the Confederacy as a supply base. The Confederacy did not think
they could defend the fort. In 1862, Robert E. Lee ordered Fernandina
and Fort Clinch evacuated.

A Union flotilla of 28 gunboats appeared as the last Confederate
train was leaving. Fort Clinch became the first Union fortress restored
to Federal control. In 1869, all troops left Fort Clinch.

In 1898, Fort Clinch was again used at the outbreak of the Spanish-American
War. Volunteer soldiers were camped at Fort Clinch.

Though occupied, the fort was never completed. In 1935, it became
part of the Florida Park System. It is one of the oldest parks in
the system. It has sandy white beaches, campsites, nature trails,
a fishing pier, and a state museum.